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In the water sport of rafting, participants row rafts on rivers or lakes, using paddles or oars. Motorized rafts are used sometimes. The simplest rafts, such as the one described in the novel Huckleberry Finn, are made of wooden logs or planks fastened together to form a floating platform. The earliest were sometimes made of bundles of reeds. Many of today’s rafts are derived from World War II life rafts and assault boats. Some are made of inflatable material.

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